Roadrunner in My Yard

One afternoon, last week I looked up from my desk and saw a roadrunner just outside my window. I should have tried taking a photo from inside, but there are screens on the window. So, instead, I stepped as stealthily as possible outside. I was able to catch a quick shot (below) of him dashing across the rocks, and although it's not the best picture, it does show some of the bright colors on his tail and around his eyes that you would generally miss. Once he crossed my yard, he perched on our fence for a while.

Bagpipes

The charity golf tournament we play in every year begins with bagpipes. It's always fun to watch him walk across the greens and a little ironic to see the palm trees in the background!

The Red Garter

I looked back at some of my photos a few weeks ago from Williams and came across this one of The Red Garter Bed and Bakery in Williams. What caught my attention originally, of course, is the mannequin leaning out of the window, but I've learned this building has a fascinating history as well.

Originally designed as a saloon and bordello, this brick building was built in 1897 by German tailor, August Tetzlaff, who hoped to capitalize on an anticipated silver and copper boom at the Grand Canyon. The brothel, including eight cribs, was located upstairs, and the girls were known to hang out of the windows and call to the men below. A steep flight of stairs known as the "Cowboy's Endurance Test" led to the girls' rooms upstairs.

The building housed other vices and corruption. Two rooms behind the saloon housed Chinese railroad workers, who operated an opium den in their living quarters. Frequently, the sheriff would be called to the den to investigate a murder, only to find nothing out of the ordinary when he arrived.

Although Arizona outlawed prostitution in 1907, the law wasn't strictly enforced. The brothel and saloon continued to operate (even through Prohibition) until the mid-1940s when a murder on the steep back stairs led to a crackdown on prostitutoin.

The Red Garter Bed and Bakery opened in 1994. I'm not sure I'll be staying there anytime soon--it's reportedly haunted. Check out the Southwest Ghost Hunters Association (where I found a lot of information about The Red Garter's History) at http://www.sgha.net/az/williams/red_garter.html.

Roping Practice

I saw these guys practicing team roping when I walked my daughter to the bus stop yesterday morning.

Junior High Band

This is the Newell Barney Junior High intermediate/concert band performing last night at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center. Newell Barney is the newest school in the district. Three years ago, when we moved here, there were four elementary schools plus Queen Creek Middle School and Queen Creek High School. Newell Barney opened last year as a middle school (6th, 7th and 8th grades).

In an attempt to save money this year, the district decided that instead of having two middle schools, they would have a middle school and a junior high. All fifth and sixth graders in the district attend Queen Creek Middle School now, and all seventh and eighth graders attend Newell Barney Junior High.

No changes were made to the overcrowded high school although I heard last night that nearby Combs school district, which sends its high school students to Queen Creek, will soon open their own high school. From what I've heard, it can't be soon enough!

Metal Donkey

I saw this donkey while I was golfing last weekend in a backyard along the course. I'm not sure what I liked so much about him other than he was life size and looked realistic.

Early Evening Quad Ride

The unincorporated areas in Queen Creek, like the one where I live, have dirt roads and open lots, making it a great place to introduce the family to riding quads. Not a day goes by that I don't see/hear half a dozen quads and dirt bikes zipping up and down the roads around our house and the lot behind it.

Check out the house behind my husband and my daughter. The windows, water heater, doors and anything else of value have been pulled out. The owner ran out of money in the middle of the build, and the property went back to the bank. The builder pulled everything he could out of the house when he realized that the owner couldn't pay him for his expenses and the work he had already completed.